Monday, September 4, 2017

Whisper: Places and Faces

 Residents like to joke that if Autumn's entropy poisoned the North, you couldn't tell the difference. Only the most truculent Folk brave the dismal moors. Their pugnacious bravado conceals fear that the world has left them behind, a weakness the Prophet has exploited.  Whisper's prodigal daughter, she appealled to that unspoken terror and has struck a secret deal to resurrect the Red Rock Cult, a brutal sect of Tooth & Claw. The nihilistic faith that pre-dates Thumb & Fist, dictating Folks' place as predator and prey. An orthodoxy that bars hope and building for the future. Increasingly attacked by raiders from the Frozen Baronies to the Far North, the Prophet and her inner circle wonder is they should be taking the tithe. Rather than the Old Fox down in Borchardbriar.

Places of Interest in Whisper

The Gray Shard - A tall, granite menhir whose base is stained with blood from sacrifices in the distant path. Here the Prophet and her cohort preach their sermons.

Red's Rest - A road house and hunting lodge south of Whisper. Red, the Fox proprietor, does what he can to warn visitors about the dangers of Whisper.

The Leaky Moon Distillery - Whisper is the only holdfast that allows the legal sale and consumption of snakebite, a distilled liquor made from malted grain. The Leaky Moon is foremost among the local distilleries but they stymie would-be bootleggers by only releasing in small, numbered batches,

High Table - Another worship site from the bad old days. Before the Prophet's ascendance it was the meeting place of city leaders, the First & Equals. Since then, some of the Prophet's zealots have taken to ritual scarification and bloodletting.

Hammer & Tongs - A large smithy in the heart of downtown Whisper, demand outstrips supply considering pressure from the Far North. It also doesn't help that the roads are thick with bandits.

Maugrim Manor - Falling into disrepair, the Prophet's ancestral manse holds bitter memories and her decrepit father. 

Saltbite Keep - A watch tower on a desolate island to the North, the first line of detection against raiders from the Baronies. The Folk stationed here often want to disappear, or have a death wish.


Beasts of Interest

Hadrian - The captain of Saltbite Keep. He keeps the faith of Thumb & Fist alive out on his lonely rock. Because none of his soldiers are as strong as all of his soldiers.

Lady Windstone - A captured raider from the Frozen North, she claims to be a Jarl with 200 axes pledged to her. In deference to her vaunted title, she's kept in a decent room and the Prophet is trying to ransom her.

Raymond & Dawn McAvow - These Beaver politicos are on the outs since the Prophet took over. Once among the First & Equals, they now seek to parley their previous status into something over in the the Vault.


Fyodor - This Sphynx travelled to Whisper all the way from Clowdertown to sit at the Prophet's feet. He's now poised to become her right paw.

Maeve - Most snakebite distilleries follow the Leaky Moon's example. This erstwhile bootlegger figures she needs to destroy the Leaky Moon as an example in order to get the others to sell to her.

Ignatius -Easily overlooked, this Wolf archivist maintains the oldest depository of knowledge in the Land. He seeks a successor to care for the books once he's gone.


Next up - Furred Wolk of Whisper - Wolves, Beavers, and Bears! Oh my!


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